Military Officers Complete First Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The first dose of the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine has been completed for 114,274 military personnel aged 30 and over. This accounts for 86.2% of all military personnel aged 30 and over, including those who did not consent to vaccination.

On the 21st, the Ministry of National Defense stated that vaccination will continue as some personnel who wished to be vaccinated late or had their vaccination schedule postponed due to training remain. Military personnel aged 30 and over who have completed the first dose are scheduled to receive the second dose around July, while vaccination for those under 30 is expected to begin around June.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the military increased by 9. Among them, 4 are soldiers belonging to a subordinate unit of an Army division located in Hongcheon, Gangwon-do, where 9 confirmed cases occurred. It was investigated that they went on leave together on the 14th with a fellow soldier who was the first confirmed case in the unit.

This brings the total confirmed cases in the unit to 13. Military authorities are conducting epidemiological investigations to identify infection routes and have implemented quarantine measures. On the same day, 3 officers in another subordinate unit of the division were also confirmed positive.

There was one confirmed case each from Army units in Namyangju and Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, detected during pre-leave return testing. The confirmed case in Namyangju was identified as an officer who recently received the COVID-19 vaccine, bringing the total number of 'post-vaccination confirmed' cases in the military to 7. The cumulative number of confirmed cases in the military is 913, of which 84 are currently undergoing treatment.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.